The language we use in our everyday speech can be a powerful form of activism and mechanism of social change. Whether we use the term ‘farm animal’ or ‘farmed animal’ to designate animals who are living and dying on farms, for example, makes a difference. This is one linguistic change about which I have been hyper conscious, particularly […]
Category Archives: Animals
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Celebrating Summer Solstice
Summer solstice was yesterday, as I’m sure most of you know. The summer solstice technically is the first day of summer, though historically it has been called midsummer by farmers since the crops are planted and well on their way to producing. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year. From here on […]
Consumer Politics and What is Veganism?
One of the reasons Michael Pollan (Author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, Food Rules) has been so successful is that he doesn’t hesitate to tell people what to eat. In fact, his philosophy of eating has become so popular that he published a book consisting entirely of his ‘food rules,’ a simplistic […]
Timothy Pachirat Reading on KUOW
Just a quick post to let you know that Timothy Pachirat, author of Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight, will be on KUOW radio, which you can listen to right here online. The date and time is this Thursday 8pm PST. If you missed his reading at Elliot Bay Books here […]
Keeping a Sunny Disposition
I haven’t talked about it much here on the blog, but starting in March I began researching for my dissertation on dairy farming. Most of my time for the past few months has been spent trying to make contacts for fieldwork, doing online research, reading, making to-do lists, trying to organize my thoughts on post-its and a […]
Understanding Anarchism
You may or may not have heard about the May Day events here in Seattle yesterday. May Day is a global day of action and solidarity for worker and immigration rights and there were events planned around the world to peacefully demonstrate in the spirit of social justice. Media coverage, of course, has not focused on the peaceful demonstrations or the politics surrounding labor and […]
Book Review at Our Hen House: “Every Twelve Seconds”
For this bright and early Monday morning I want to nudge you over to Our Hen House to read another book review by yours truly. This one is a review of Timothy Pachirat’s recent book, Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight. If you haven’t read it already, I would highly recommend the […]
April Sidecar for Pigs Peace Bakesale & Cookie Recipe
It’s that time again! That’s right, the Sidecar for Pigs Peace bake sale. This time, the bake sale coincides with the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale. If you’re in Seattle this weekend, stop by Sidecar to get some delicious vegan baked goods to support Pigs Peace Sanctuary. The details: What: Sidecar for Pigs Peace Vegan Bake Sale When: Saturday April 21st at […]
Book Review at Our Hen House
Good morning, Monday! Just wanted to write a quick note to nudge you all over to Our Hen House this morning. When I was in NYC, I met with the lovely ladies of Our Hen House and we chatted over some delicious Korean food about animal rights, activism, and academics. They kindly invited me to do […]
Carnism: Making the Invisible Visible
I spent several hours this weekend reading through the comments section of the NYTimes ‘Tell Us Why It’s Ethical to Eat Meat” contest and getting progressively depressed by the tendency of ‘meat-eaters’ to dismiss vegans as elitist, irrational, extreme or simple wrong and to justify their meat consumption in a variety of predictable arguments–some more absurd than […]
